Learning the Love of Food at School

The love of food starts at an early age, and we can do so much to foster this in the school setting. Long gone are the old jokes about unappealing cafeteria food. Today’s students have access to delicious and nutritious foods that cultivate their palates as they move from elementary to middle to high school. At the forefront of this culinary movement is Sodexo’s food services for schools, where great care is taken to craft menus that make kids happy.

Our foundation starts with healthful eating. We incorporate fruits and vegetables in elementary school menus so students develop a taste for these early on. In middle school, we start to add more condiments, toppings, flavors and spices, taking that same food they're familiar with and bringing a little bit more adventure into it. In high school, we introduce the fusion concept to the same foods, adding Sriracha to a chicken sandwich, for example, and bringing the flavors of other cultures into the mix. 

All About Choice

In everything we do, we give students a variety of choices. Take something as simple as a cheeseburger: one student may want just ketchup and pickles on it, but another may want roasted jalapenos, bacon, cheese, slaw and other toppings, along with condiments and sauces. All of a sudden, no matter the type of eater, the school day just got a little bit brighter for everyone.

In addition to choice, customization is key to keeping students happy and engaged. An elementary school with only 300 young students is a less complicated audience. But at middle schools with 600 to 800 students, increasing variety becomes more important. High schools typically enroll 1,500 to 2,000 students, so the culinary programs have to expand to offer more customization of flavor, with more entrée choices for ever more adventurous palates.

New Twists on Old Favorites

While variety may be the spice of cafeteria life, tried-and-true choices will always be available for students looking for comfort-food fare. But even at those daily core stations, we often add limited-time-offers to the mix, so that pepperoni pizza may rotate from a calzone to a stromboli to a flatbread throughout the week. Those chicken tenders might be modified with dipping sauces like Buffalo and teriyaki one day, or served with biscuits and gravy another day. It’s all about taking familiar items and presenting them in different ways to generate excitement and interest. 

Adventures in Plant-Based Eating and Beyond

For those with bolder palates, we offer an adventure station with globally inspired flavors, as well as a rotation of pop-up brands for students in middle and high schools. We take the fun pop-up concept one step further at the high school level with regional barbecue, breakfast for lunch and variations of ramen bowls. We’re also introducing more plant-based options that evoke familiar flavors — like smoked roasted tofu for a healthy twist on that barbecue flavor.

With all this variety and added surprises throughout the year, along with familiar favorites served in a warm, welcoming environment, there’s no shortage of happy faces in our lunch rooms. Instilling a love of food in our students is as simple as giving them something that tastes good and is good for them.